Best of 2018: Marty Stuart Way Out West

Marty Stuart’s homage to the great state of California is absolutely some of his best work to date. Fresh and surprising, Way Out West is a genre-blending mix of country (and western), hillbilly twang and Beach Boys-meet-Gram Parsons vibe. If a cowboy was wandering in the desert on an exploratory spiritual acid trip, Way Out West would be the soundtrack. As bizarre as that sounds, it works splendidly. Stuart shows incredible creative expansion and his vocals have never been better, mostly because there’s more emotion in his delivery, inspiring more of a connection to the song. Of course, the musicianship of The Superlatives bring it all home. This is definitely a contender for best country album of 2018.

Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives’ new album, Way Out West, comes out March 10